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The Lewis H. Wright Memorial Lecture is sponsored annually by the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology (WLM) and honors its namesake, who was a pioneer in American anesthesiology. Dr. Wright was committed to enhancing the stature of anesthesiology as a clinical science and as an advanced medical specialty. He was a founding member of the WLM Board of Trustees and later served as its president emeritus. In 1973, the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists endowed this lectureship to honor Dr. Wright, who died the following year.

This year’s distinguished guest is George S. Bause, M.D., M.P.H., Honorary Curator of the Wood Library-Museum of Anesthesiology and Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine and of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Bause was born in Pennsylvania and, as the son of a military chaplain, lived in 12 homes in his first 20 years of life. Moving from Air Force base to Air Force base, George collected mementos along the way – a foreshadowing of things to come. Childhood accidents left him with contact, and then scald, burns and unrelated minor surgeries left him with vivid memories of three anesthetic inductions. Perhaps these experiences inspired his interest in the science of pain relief. On November 22, 1963, George’s eighth birthday, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated; the dramatic events cultivated in George aspirations to become a physician. George’s first major summer job was moving furniture – another skill that has proved valuable as he moved exhibits in large vans across the country for the WLM.